Glowing Globe profile of Bell's president of production and content

Media reporter James Bradshaw writes:
"Under his (Randy Lennox's) watch, Bell also overhauled its popular morning show, ending Canada AM's 43-year run and replacing it with Your Morning, which has a format that's less anchored to Bell's news arm and a friendlier venue for product placement."
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Giller Prize winner Joseph Boyden’s indigenous ancestry questioned

Sean Fine of the Globe writes the most balanced story on the Joseph Boyden controversy. Excerpt:

"Award-winning Canadian novelist Joseph Boyden is defending his right to identify as an indigenous person, after an aboriginal publication raised questions about his background and name-callers on Twitter labelled him a 'pretendian.'

"'I once said that, ‘A small part of me is Indigenous, but it is a huge part of who I am,' the Giller Prize-winning author wrote in a statement published on Twitter. 'This remains true to me to this day.… I do belong.'

"The statement came in response to a 2,700-word article probing his background, published two days earlier on the website of the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. The article says Mr. Boyden’s indigenous heritage “has been an ever shifting, evolving thing. Over the years, Boyden has variously claimed his family’s roots extended to the Métis, Mi’kmaq, Ojibway and Nipmuc peoples.' The article does not reach firm conclusions, but says it is difficult to pinpoint where his aboriginal heritage began on either his mother’s or father’s sides of the family.

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Bell Media drops O'Leary -- finally!

Bell Media has announced that potential Conservative leadership candidate Kevin O’Leary will no longer appear on the company’s financial television network BNN or CTV News, the NatPost reports.
The media conglomerate hired the businessman and reality TV star away from the CBC two years ago, and he has since served as a commentator on economic and political matters across its platforms. In recent months, O’Leary has been flirting with the prospect of running for the Conservative party’s top job, creating a potential conflict of interest for Bell Media news properties covering the leadership race.
Bell Media’s announcement came after O’Leary unveiled an “exploratory committee” and website Friday morning. The team backing O’Leary includes, among others, former Stephen Harper cabinet minister Marjory LeBreton and former premier of Ontario Mike Harris.
Full NatPost story

Hébert: Time changes coverage of Hill

Chantal Hebert writes:
"Once a staple of the holiday news season, the televised prime ministerial fireside chats are well on the way to joining the ghosts of Christmas past.
The CBC and Radio-Canada – among others – have opted out of the format, rightly concluding that the days when there was something special or, for that matter, newsworthy about deferentially serving up a prime minister to a festive nation had gone.
"So have the days when a government leader had to rely on a handful of major networks to reach a national audience. Interviews with the prime minister are a dime a dozen this December. On top of various year-end Parliament Hill interviews and a news conference, Trudeau has spent the past week on a year-end tour. At the end of last week, he was in Montreal taking questions from Radio-Canada viewers. This week he spent time in Vancouver and Calgary.
'There was a time when a contingent of Parliament Hill reporters would have tagged along. But trips outside the parliamentary precinct are so few now, as it is possible to catch Trudeau live in action from one’s computer at no cost to media organizations."
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NatPost columnist asks why Bell Media not cutting ties with Kevin O'Leary

Sean Craig writes in the National Post:
"Kevin O’Leary insists it’s only a matter of time before he makes his entry in the Conservative leadership race official, Bell Media says it will only end its on-air relationship with him if and when he formally enters the contest.
"The media company lured the businessman and reality television star away from the CBC in 2014, and he now appears frequently on its financial news network, BNN, as well as serving as a personal finance expert on CTV’s "The Marilyn Denis Show and contributing to Bell Media radio properties including 580 CFRA in Ottawa, CJAD 800 in Montreal and Newstalk 1010 in Toronto.
"O’Leary has frequently used those media appearances to make political pronouncements and to attack his potential political rivals, even while the company’s news properties are covering him and the Conservative leadership race."
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